fossil fool
- noun
- /ˈfɑsəl ful/
- Offensive
:
carca
- His reluctance to embrace online learning made him a fossil fool in the eyes of his younger colleagues.
Examples
-
Fossil fools only fool us into thinking we can do without ecosystem services and natural resources for a while.
Blog text (1) -
We are fossil fools.
Blog text (1) -
Many believe that those who ignore climate change are simply fossil fools clinging to outdated beliefs.
-
In the tech industry, being a fossil fool means refusing to adopt new methods and sticking to old technologies.
Synonyms
65
7.6
Someone whose habits or style are old-fashioned
8
9.1
A person who does not want to use new technology
4
9.9
A person with old-fashioned ideas who refuses to change
2
8.2
A person who prefers old ways and does not like change
1
8.6
An old-fashioned person or thing that is out of date
1
9.6
A person who prefers the usual way of doing things and does not accept new ideas
A person or thing that is very old-fashioned and not useful today
Antonyms
How Old-fashioned
- Offensive
- Offensive
2
8.2
- Offensive
1
8.3
149
4.7
20
5.6
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound directly combines 'fossil' (an outdated or old-fashioned person) with 'fool' (an unwise or gullible person), so the meaning 'an outdated, stubbornly change-resistant person' follows straightforwardly from the parts. Although informal and slightly creative, the sense is compositional and would be clear to a B1 learner who knows both constituent words.
Etymology
Fossil fool imagines someone as a fossil, old and stuck in rock, and adds fool to say they refuse to change. So, it means a person who is 'outdated' or who 'won't accept new ideas'.